In a commencement speech to students of Hampton University last May, Obama admitted to not knowing how to work Apple's iPod or iPad, or Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation game consoles. Obama had also referred to the devices as turning information into a "distraction, a diversion," and "a form of entertainment" that kept people from empowering themselves.

Personally I think it makes sense. LTE chip sets are not near being usable yet. The iPhone 5 may already be ready, except for LTE. Sprint has had WiMax for a long time now so their chipsets are more mature. So give Sprint exclusive iPhone 5 access for 6 months - that lets LTE chipsets mature and then give AT&T and Verizon an iPhone 5 with a more mature LTE chipset.

We already know there is no LTE iPhone coming until next year. So at best all this does is give Sprint a 4G iPhone sooner.

It is, but .... According to them, Sprint would have exclusivity to Assistant. That is doubtful. Would Apple put their next great revolution (as some are touting it) in the hands of the 3rd carrier in the US alone?

It would be for just 3 months.

Quote:

Also, the spec division would have the 4S retaining the Retina Display and the iP5 getting a 4" screen (with lower than RD resolution). That's contrary to Apple's way of marketing.

Even if the pixel count remained the same (which I would expect), resolution would still be in the RD range - less than a 15% reduction in density along any one axis.

It is, but .... According to them, Sprint would have exclusivity to Assistant. That is doubtful. Would Apple put their next great revolution (as some are touting it) in the hands of the 3rd carrier in the US alone?

Also, the spec division would have the 4S retaining the Retina Display and the iP5 getting a 4" screen (with lower than RD resolution). That's contrary to Apple's way of marketing.

Guys, there is nothing 'cool', 'smart' or 'savvy' about this. A move like this would be, if Apple actually did it, one of THE most idiotic business moves of the year if not decade. That said, it's just a dumb idea and a really bizarro story that somebody dreamed up. Just think about it. In order to believe this is true, one has to accept that:

1) Apple would spend the last 16 months developing a new and groundbreaking design, and then intentionally tie it to a carrier who represents < 18% of the subscriber market in the US, AND:

2) That Apple would do this just because that carrier promissed to buy 30.5 million phones over a four year period (just 7.6 million a year), DESPITE:

3) The fact that AT&T and Verizon sell about 24 million iPhones a year, which would be 116 million devices over the same four year period (as opposed to 30), and DESPITE:

4) The fact that it would immediately anger millions upon millions of customers who are currently locked into contracts with Verizon and / or AT&T but who would otherwise be eligible for early upgrades, and DESPITE:

5) The fact that it would massively alienate their current carrier partners.

Even if the pixel count remained the same (which I would expect), resolution would still be in the RD range - less than a 15% reduction in density along any one axis.

That depends on the definition. Apple's definition is iffy to begin with. Regardless, I don't completely disagree. According to this (http://bit.ly/rrKpCH), it will drop to 288 dpi, which is still quite good.

But what I find contrary to Apple marketing is making a customer choose between a larger screen or higher resolution. Apple rarely create dilemmas like that.

as a T-Mobile customer ... if Sprint has a good deal on the new iPhone AND unlimited data/phone ... I am going to jump. No way do I want to become a customer again of AT&T

I expect them to follow the trend; keeping the unlimited long enough to get the first burst of customers signed. Then it'll go by the way side as it did with AT&T. . . then Verizon. I'd suspect my grandfathered plan will be killed one day by some legalize.

Guys, there is nothing 'cool', 'smart' or 'savvy' about this. A move like this would be, if Apple actually did it, one of THE most idiotic business moves of the year if not decade. That said, it's just a dumb idea and a really bizarro story that somebody dreamed up. Just think about it. In order to believe this is true, one has to accept that:

1) Apple would spend the last 16 months developing a new and groundbreaking design, and then intentionally tie it to a carrier who represents < 18% of the subscriber market in the US, AND:

2) That Apple would do this just because that carrier promissed to buy 30.5 million phones over a four year period (just 7.6 million a year), DESPITE:

3) The fact that AT&T and Verizon sell about 24 million iPhones a year, which would be 116 million devices over the same four period (as opposed to 30), and DESPITE:

4) The fact that it would immediately anger millions upon millions of customers who are currently locked into contracts with Verizon and / or AT&T but who would otherwise be eligible for early upgrades, and DESPITE:

5) The fact that it would massively alienate their current carrier partners.

It's just a stupid, STUPID story, with a capital 'S'.

I think there's fire behind this smoke. But I agree that I don't see Apple trusting their best technology in the shakiest pair of hands. The deal is likely a fact. The devil is in the details.

Guys, there is nothing 'cool', 'smart' or 'savvy' about this. A move like this would be, if Apple actually did it, one of THE most idiotic business moves of the year if not decade. That said, it's just a dumb idea and a really bizarro story that somebody dreamed up. Just think about it. In order to believe this is true, one has to accept that:

1) Apple would spend the last 16 months developing a new and groundbreaking design, and then intentionally tie it to a carrier who represents < 18% of the subscriber market in the US, AND:

2) That Apple would do this just because that carrier promissed to buy 30.5 million phones over a four year period (just 7.6 million a year), DESPITE:

3) The fact that AT&T and Verizon sell about 24 million iPhones a year, which would be 116 million devices over the same four year period (as opposed to 30), and DESPITE:

4) The fact that it would immediately anger millions upon millions of customers who are currently locked into contracts with Verizon and / or AT&T but who would otherwise be eligible for early upgrades, and DESPITE:

5) The fact that it would massively alienate their current carrier partners.

It's just a stupid, STUPID story, with a capital 'S'.

I agree with every point of logic and common sense you wrote....
BUT we will see tomorrow morning....but in the meantime Sprint's stock took a dive

Tallest Skil:

"Eventually Google will have their Afghanistan with Oracle and collapse" "The future is Apple, Google, and a third company that hasn't yet been created."

Personally I think it makes sense. LTE chip sets are not near being usable yet. The iPhone 5 may already be ready, except for LTE. Sprint has had WiMax for a long time now so their chipsets are more mature. So give Sprint exclusive iPhone 5 access for 6 months - that lets LTE chipsets mature and then give AT&T and Verizon an iPhone 5 with a more mature LTE chipset.

We already know there is no LTE iPhone coming until next year. So at best all this does is give Sprint a 4G iPhone sooner.

That might be it - Wimax before LTE. That's enough of a distinction for Sprint but no serious compromise for Apple.

Guys, there is nothing 'cool', 'smart' or 'savvy' about this. A move like this would be, if Apple actually did it, one of THE most idiotic business moves of the year if not decade. That said, it's just a dumb idea and a really bizarro story that somebody dreamed up. Just think about it. In order to believe this is true, one has to accept that:

1) Apple would spend the last 16 months developing a new and groundbreaking design, and then intentionally tie it to a carrier who represents < 18% of the subscriber market in the US, AND:

2) That Apple would do this just because that carrier promissed to buy 30.5 million phones over a four year period (just 7.6 million a year), DESPITE:

3) The fact that AT&T and Verizon sell about 24 million iPhones a year, which would be 116 million devices over the same four period (as opposed to 30), and DESPITE:

4) The fact that it would immediately anger millions upon millions of customers who are currently locked into contracts with Verizon and / or AT&T but who would otherwise be eligible for early upgrades, and DESPITE:

5) The fact that it would massively alienate their current carrier partners.

It's just a stupid, STUPID story, with a capital 'S'.

Hold on quick draw... keep in mind this is NOT an either or story, but a first to market (by about 6 months)story. Lets see, GUARANTEED sale of 30.5million phones from Sprint AND 6 months later NEAR GUARANTEED sales from ATT/Verizon .. in exchang I (apple) spend ~ 500 million on the inerds for sprint... VS just do LTE inerds and maybe later... on my own dime do Sprint. Seems pretty smart business decision by Apple, if true.

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster by your side, kid.

Not saying i believe this rumor, but you know if att/verizon continued to play hardball on a phone that can transfer from one network to another, I would do stuff like this to show them who is boss.

Wait... you are saying that as a CEO / business leader, you would permanently alienate a huge portion of your customers, lose out on device sales to a tune of nearly 4 to 1, and permanently alienate the two largest carriers in the nation... to prove you are a macho head honcho?

I am sure the Android fans will claim that Sprint is simply caving in to the media created frenzy in order to market an inferior product (the iPhone) and that only by shoring up their portfolio with the 87 different varieties of Android hardware and software combinations will Sprint survive or remain relevant in the US market. I mean, come on people, Android based devices have a larger screen, a removable battery, AND more buttons on the front than the iPhone, so they are clearly superior. Oh, and don't forget that you have the freedom to try to figure out just where the heck you are supposed to get apps to load on your Android device that are safe and won't be rendered obsolete in 3 months when the Tootsie-Pop version of the OS comes out - no, wait I mean the Fruit-Roll-Up version - no, no wait, the Pop-Tart version.

Oh yeah - and Betamax is better than VHS, just you wait and see.

You're just as bad. Not a single fandroid has chimed in and you didn't even add a positive/negative comment on the article. If it wasn't for android you'd have nothing to say.

"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" Mark Twain"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX

Hold on quick draw... keep in mind this is NOT an either or story, but a first to market (by about 6 months)story. Lets see, GUARANTEED sale of 30.5million phones from Sprint AND 6 months later NEAR GUARANTEED sales from ATT/Verizon .. in exchang I (apple) spend ~ 500 million on the inerds for sprint... VS just do LTE inerds and maybe later... on my own dime do Sprint. Seems pretty smart business decision by Apple, if true.

So why would they release it for 6 months to Sprint only? In the same mentioned 6 months if released on all 3 (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) they would sell a lot more than 30 million devices especially during the holidays coming up. Also all the repots say that almost half of the people who own smart phones want to upgrade to the IP5 whether in contract or out of contract. So this reports makes no sense from a logic standapoint and from a sheer numbers standpoint. Sprint can guarantee they will sell 30 mil IP5 but those numbers are already guaranteed and more if released to all 3 top carriers....

Tallest Skil:

"Eventually Google will have their Afghanistan with Oracle and collapse" "The future is Apple, Google, and a third company that hasn't yet been created."

30.5 million phones on 4 years for $20B, that's $655 / phone if i didn't get lost in all the 0. That doesn't sound like a big discount... And isn't the price of the IP5 going to drop in 12 month like all old IPs ?

So why would they release it for 6 months to Sprint only? In the same mentioned 6 months if released on all 3 (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) they would sell a lot more than 30 million devices especially during the holidays coming up. Also all the repots say that almost half of the people who own smart phones want to upgrade to the IP5 whether in contract or out of contract. So this reports makes no sense from a logic standapoint and from a sheer numbers standpoint. Sprint can guarantee they will sell 30 mil IP5 but those numbers are already guaranteed and more if released to all 3 top carriers....

Because its the deal.
Art of the negotiation.. sprint comes to Apple and says we need the iphone; Apple probable said... 'go pound sand'. ... 'errr... unless'.
Sprint was losing marketshare... what to do, what to do.
So as you point out, Apple alreadys knows they have the sales to Verizon and ATT, now or six months from now... so leverage Sprint to the hilt. Masterful... if true.

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster by your side, kid.